The Secret
by dramaqueen
Summary: Set in their seventh year, Hermione and Draco discover they don't hate each other as much as they'd like to believe. Please R&R (Sorry about the rubbish summary!)
1. Default Chapter

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Disclaimer: **The wonderful world of Harry Potter belongs to that utter genius J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. I am not J.K. Rowling and have nothing to do with Warner Brothers, so as you may have guessed I don't own the copyright. I'm not making any money from this, but will love you forever if you review. (But no flames please.) - Dramaqueen 

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**The Secret**

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**Chapter One: How it Began**

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"Is that the time?" Hermione asked the world in general as she got a glimpse of a sundial that stood in the middle of Hogsmead.

"Probably." Replied Ron through a mouthful of the chocolate frog he had just bought.

"I've got to be somewhere but I'll see you back in the common room in a few hours." With that, Hermione turned and hurried away.

"Where's she going?" Ron asked Harry.

"Probably back to school to get a head start on revision." He suggested.

She'd been doing things like this a lot recently. Disappearing for hours at a time with no explanation; leaving in the middle of something; arriving at the common room in the evening with a look on her face that suggested both happiness and guilt.

"I told you we should have brought the invisibility cloak in case she went off again." Said Ron.

"Because that worked so well last time?" Harry asked rhetorically; reminding his friend of the time a few weeks ago when they'd decided to follow their best friend under the cover of Harry's invisibility cloak. They hadn't been walking for more than a minute when she had turned around and told them she knew they were there and reminding them that it was her whom had put the Body-Binding curse on Neville in their first year. It wasn't that they were scared of her; they had just decided that she probably wasn't doing anything interesting anyway so had gone back to Gryffindor tower and not followed her since.

"Good point. And chances are you're right about the revision. My guess is she's spent the last couple of months doing extra homework and memorising old N.E.W.T. papers." Of course Ron still wanted to find out for sure what Hermione was doing, but as he didn't have a burning desire to spend the rest of the afternoon completely paralysed he had decided it was best to just leave it alone for the time being.

_(BREAK - EVIL FANFIC EDITOR WON'T LET ME SET THIS OUT RIGHT - FOLLOWING = NEW PARAGRAPH)_

Hermione hurried down the corridor towards the Head Student study room/office that Dumbledore had created from a disused classroom the previous year. Like the dormitories and Dumbledore's office, the room could only be accessed by those who knew the password. Only five people knew it; Dumbledore, the Head Girl and Head Boy, and their house heads. Hermione was Head Girl.

"Sugar lumps." She said as she arrived at the correct door, having first checked that there was no one within earshot. The door swung open and head boy Draco Malfoy was sitting inside.

"And where have you been?" He asked, looking straight at her with piercing eyes.

"Hogsmead. I lost track of time. Sorry." She said, shutting the door behind her.

"You mean you were too busy with Potter and the Weasel to remember to meet me?"

"I'm here now aren't I? And don't call Ron a weasel." She sat down next to Malfoy on the two-seater settee which (like the rest of the room) was a bizarre combination of the Gryffindor and Slytherin house colours.

"Or we could just not talk about those losers you call friends."

"Malfoy…" Before Hermione could finish speaking Draco put his arm around her waist and his lips on hers. He began to kiss her but after a few seconds she pulled away.

"Harry and Ron are not losers!" She said sternly. Then she kissed him. They wrapped their arms around each other, kissing passionately and tugging at each others robes.

"You'd better not tell anyone about this Granger." Draco mumbled as he began kissing Hermione's neck.

"I have no intention of letting anyone find out what we get up to in here." She said as she lifted up his robes and pulled them over his head.

If, when they were made Head Students at the beginning of their seventh year, anyone had told either Draco or Hermione that within a matter of months they'd be regularly meeting for these types of rendezvous', neither would have believed it. Yet here they were. It had all started with an argument and progressed to a passionate kiss before either party could stop themselves…

THREE MONTHS EARLIER:

"How do you manage it? Seriously Malfoy. How do you keep getting the credit without doing any of the work?" Harry yelled in Hermione's defence. Hermione had spent a lot of time and effort organising a fundraiser on behalf of Hogwarts (since He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named returned, Dumbledore and the governor's had decided it best to use the majority of the schools funds on protecting the castle and improving DADA and ADADA classes, leaving little money for the other departments;) and both she and Draco had just received twenty-five house points each and a thank you speech, despite the latter not having done anything to help.

"Don't get so wound up Potter. It's not as if your little mudblood friend didn't get mentioned in Dumbledore's 'aren't you so wonderful' speech." Draco said. Or at least, that's what he would have said had Harry and Ron not pounced on him the second he had called Hermione a mudblood.

"That's enough." None of them had seen Professor McGonagall approach them, but now she was there, the boy's sprang apart.

"Ronald. Harry. I'm very disappointed in you. Fighting at your age. Ten points from Gryffindor. Each. And as for you Draco," McGonagall turned her attention to the Slytherin, "we expect more from the Head Boy. I'm taking ten points from Slytherin and I want you and Miss Granger to go to your study room and make a start on the plans for the Leaver's Ball. I know it's quite a few months away yet but it takes a lot of organising." To ensure that they did as instructed (partially at least) Professor McGonagall led Hermione and Draco to the private study room, uttered the password, and told them she'd be along in an hour to see how far they'd got with their planning.

"Harry was right back there. You do claim the credit for other people's work. You're never going to get anywhere if you let everyone do your work for you." Hermione stated once the door was shut.

"Get off your high horse, Granger." Draco sneered, collapsing on the sofa.

"I am not on a high horse! And besides, we are supposed to be talking about the Leaver's Ball."

"As if it's going to be different from any other ball they through in this place. Cheap decorations, boring food and music that was old when my father came here."

"Firstly, none of those things are true; and secondly, the reason why it's our job to organise the Leaver's Ball is so that it's what our year wants. If you don't think you're going to like it then now's your chance to make sure that you will."

"Why are you so bothered about whether or not I'm going to like the Leaver's Ball? Anyone would think you were in love with me or something. Not that they could blame you for it."

"In love with you? The only person in love with you Malfoy is you. You're the most malicious, conceited, lazy and spoilt man I know!"

"Well at least I'm a man. Mature, good looking, not to mention filthy rich."

"I meant boy. Immature and forever crawling to daddy to buy you out of trouble."

"But you do think I'm good looking? I didn't realise you had such good taste."

"You're the one who said you were good looking Malfoy."

"But you didn't disagree with me. Face it Granger. You find me attractive. It's only natural."

"Find you attractive? I'd rather go out with Neville!"

"Tut tut tut. That's no way to talk about someone who's supposed to be your friend." Now standing, Draco folded his arms and shook his head in mock disapproval.

"What would you know about friends? All you have are cronies."

"At least I don't follow The-Boy-Who-Just-Won't-Die around like an attention seeking puppy."

Hermione didn't know who to be more angry for – herself or Harry.

"I do not follow him around. He's my friend. And the reason he just won't die is that…"

"I don't actually care why he's alive Granger. All I know is my father wouldn't be in prison if it wasn't for him."

"You're father is in prison because he's a death eater. All Harry did was help to stop him from killing any more innocent people."

"You know nothing about my father!"

"I know that he's…" Hermione was unable to say anymore on account of Draco kissing her. What she soon realised (much to her surprise) was that she was kissing him back.

After about thirty seconds they pulled apart and just stood there staring at each other in complete shock. Then they started kissing again. Neither teen knew what had got into them, but what they did know was that, despite themselves, they liked it.

When they heard McGonagall say the password forty-five minutes later, they quickly smoothed down their clothes and moved to opposite ends of the room.

"How are the plans coming along?" She asked as she entered the room; either not noticing or choosing to ignore the fact that the Head Boy appeared to be wearing smudged tinted-lip gloss.

"We need more time." Hermione said quickly. "To finalise who's going to be in charge of what."

"Is that so? Well, you can decide on that tomorrow, but now it's nearly time for dinner." McGonagall said.

"I suppose that means I'll have to spend tomorrow evening in here on my own with Granger." Said Draco, trying to sound as if he thought that was a bad thing.

"Of course we'll have to be on our own. We'll meet in here after last lesson and I guess we'll just have to stay here as long as it takes." As Hermione spoke she realised that her bra was undone.

"I'm glad to see you're both taking this seriously, but remember that you do have exams coming up. They should be your priority at the moment."

"They are Professor."

"If you expect us to study as well as organise the ball we should be allowed an extended curfew." Draco suggested, and then added, "Please," as one look from McGonagall told him she wasn't particularly impressed by the way he'd phrased his request.

Catching on, Hermione came in with, "We could come back after dinner. That way we can sort out what our responsibilities are tonight, and work on the details tomorrow."

"Well I suppose it won't do any harm. But you must both be in your rooms by eleven, and I'll have to clear it with Professor's Snape and Dumbledore first. Come to my office after dinner and I'll be able to give you a definite answer then."

They got the extended curfew, but not once used the time to discuss the ball.

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**A/N: **So, what do you think? I'm going to start writing chapter two just as soon as I know there's at least one person who will read it, so if you want to find out more please review.

Dramaqueen


	2. Draco's pov

**Disclaimer: **The wonderful world of Harry Potter belongs to that utter genius J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. I am not J.K. Rowling and have nothing to do with Warner Brothers, so as you may have guessed I don't own the copyright. I'm not making any money from this, but will love you forever if you review. (But no flames please.) - Dramaqueen

**Chapter Two: Draco's PoV**

Draco sat in the Head Student office, waiting for Hermione to arrive. She was already five minutes late and he was only going to give her another five. Of course, the fact that he was waiting at all went completely against his better judgement. Malfoys didn't wait for anyone; especially not a filthy mudblood like Hermione Granger. So why was he waiting? The question circled round his mind as he tried to come up with the answer.

'She's probably got magical blood from some distant relative her stupid muggle family don't know about.' He thought. 'No one without any magic in their family can be that good a witch.' This decision wasn't quite enough to answer Draco's nagging thought, but it was a start; it helped him to think that Hermione's blood might not be quite as impure as he had been led to believe. It made the fact he was waiting for her slightly less degrading. Not that a Malfoy would ever degrade themselves. It just wasn't possible.

It was at that moment that Draco heard footsteps followed by a familiar voice outside the door. It swung open and Hermione stepped inside.

"And where have you been?"…………

………… "Don't think this makes us friends." Draco instructed as he kissed Hermione's bear skin a while later.

"You've said that almost every day for the last three months." She reminded him, throwing his underwear on the floor.

"I say it because I mean it. I may screw you Granger but that doesn't mean I like you."

"Well I'm not exactly jumping to be your best friend."

For the next half an hour neither one spoke as instead they put their mouths to a different use. Their hands slid over each other's now naked bodies and they temporarily forgot their mutual dislike. As Draco twirled his slender fingers in Hermione's hair he was vaguely (and uncomfortably) aware of how right being with her felt. It was a feeling that he had often had before, and each time it grew harder to dismiss. There was just something about her; something in the way she looked and felt. Even her scent drove Draco wild. He hated that he felt this way; that he was beginning to feel something other than lust and loathing for the young witch. This wasn't supposed to mean anything. It was just supposed to be a bit of harmless fun; a distraction from the responsibility of being Head Boy and the pressure of his forthcoming N.E.W.Ts. But over the past few months he had begun to see her in a new light. It wasn't exactly a secret that Hermione was intelligent, but what Draco hadn't realised until now was that she was much more than just a brainy know-it-all. For a start, she genuinely cared about things: her friends and family, including that oaf Hagrid and the entire Weasley clan; that mangy cat of hers whose name Draco could never remember, and for some inexplicable reason she even cared about house-elves. As a rule the Malfoys considered caring about someone or something to be a weakness, but with Hermione it was different. She had gone through so much in the last few years and if anything it had only made her stronger. Then there was the fact that, going on what she had told him over the past few months, Hermione had broken almost every school rule there was. Of course, she generally avoided getting caught, possibly due to the fact that the majority of teachers were completely oblivious to the possibility that she would dare do something wrong. It was this reputation for following the rules that helped the pair get away with so much; after all, even if someone did realise that for Draco and Hermione to spend so much time together they must not hate each other as much as they claimed, they would never believe good-little-Granger would do something as forbidden as have sex on school property.

'Come to think of it,' mused Draco as he kissed her neck, 'I doubt anyone would believe that she'd have sex anywhere.' At this thought, Draco began to muse over how quickly he'd have cursed someone if, three months ago, they had suggested that he himself would soon be sleeping with Granger on a regular basis. Not that they ever slept. If Draco was honest with himself he was scared of literally sleeping with her. To him, actually sleeping with someone suggested a kind of intimacy that he felt unready to share with anyone, let alone Hermione. It would mean admitting to himself; to her; that his feelings for her were about more than something physical, and there was no way he was ready for that.

'This is nothing. It means nothing.' Draco thought. He and Hermione were beginning to get dressed now, and a voice in his head was screaming at him to hold her.

'Why would I want to do that? It's not as if I even like the girl that much.' But the voice disagreed: 'You keep trying to convince yourself that. Meanwhile, I'll keep thinking about her every second of the day.'

"I am NOT in love with Granger!" Hermione dropped the sock she'd been about to put on and stared, flabbergasted, at Malfoy. Only then did he realise that he'd spoken out loud.


	3. aftermath

**Disclaimer: **The wonderful world of Harry Potter belongs to that utter genius J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. I am not J.K. Rowling and have nothing to do with Warner Brothers, so as you may have guessed I don't own the copyright. I'm not making any money from this, but will love you forever if you review. (But no flames please.) - Dramaqueen

**Aftermath**

"You…I…No one said you were." Hermione stammered, still in shock over Draco's unexpected announcement.

"I was worried you were beginning to think this could become something serious. I thought I'd set you straight before you had the whole school thinking I'm in love with you." Draco replied with the first thing that came into his head.

"Well I have no idea what made you think that," Hermione began, picking up the sock she had dropped just a moment before; "but I can assure you that I have never thought for even a second that our many trysts would ever be more than meaningless."

"Good."

"And what's more, I'm not in love you either. So I guess that makes us even."

"Good." Draco repeated as he put his shoes back on. "Neither one of us is in love with the other one of us."

"No. We're not." Hermione picked up her things and left the study room without another word.

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As Draco walked back through the castle to the Slytherin dormitories, he couldn't help but reflect on what had just happened.

'Congratulations Malfoy. I think she just about believed you.' Spoke the same part of his brain which had started this whole mess.

'That would be because I was telling her the truth.' The rest of Draco's brain replied.

'Of course you were.'

'And what the hell would you know about it?'

'You may not like it Draco, but I'm you. You're having this silent little conversation with yourself. Or should I say, _I'm _having this little conversation with _my_self.'

'Damn it. Ok, so maybe that irritating voice saying I have feelings for Granger is a part of me. That doesn't mean I do have feelings for her. Because I don't. I don't love her, she doesn't love me, and I don't care.' But Draco did care. When Hermione had told him she wasn't in love with him either, it had bothered him. No; it had more than bothered him. Those few words had stung him far more deeply than anything he had ever experienced. It was like she had been taunting him. Cursing him. As much as Draco wanted to deny it, he knew what these feelings meant. And they scared him to death.

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"Hello. Earth to Hermione." Ron stood in front of his friend, waving a hand in her face in an attempt to get her attention.

"What? Stop doing that?" Hermione batted Ron's hand away as she came out of her reverie.

"Finally! I've been standing here for ages."

"Really, Ron. I'm sure you have more important things to be doing than annoying me. Like homework for instance."

"Hermione, you've spent the last two hours staring at the fire."

"We're worried about you." Ginny stood next to her brother and looked genuinely concerned. Hermione had no idea as to whether she'd been there the whole time or not.

"I'm fine. You don't have to worry."

"I do." Said Dean Thomas. "My girlfriend's paying all her attention to you and isn't kissing me."

"I'd hope not!" Blurted out Ron - who had never quite got used to the idea of Ginny dating anyone - let alone one of his friends. "She's only 12!"

"Actually I'm 17!" Ginny turned her attention from Hermione to Ron.

"Since when?"

"Since my birthday. I'm only a year younger than you remember."

"Exactly!" Ron said, as if Ginny had just proved his point.

"Exactly what?" Asked Dean.

"Exactly she's younger than you." Even Ron realized that that hadn't quite made sense.

"Of course I'm younger than him. I was younger than him when we started going out nearly two years ago, and I'll still be younger than him when we move in together after my seventh year!" As soon as she'd said it Ginny wished she hadn't.

"WHAT!" Ron bellowed. As a sibling argument ensued Hermione was glad the attention was off of her. With everyone was busy watching Ginny and Harry's attempts to stop Ron from punching Dean, Hermione slipped unnoticed out of the common room. As she headed towards the prefects bathroom she tried to ignore the thought at the back of her mind that knew precisely why she had been so distracted earlier. Draco. What he had said the other day had affected her in a way that terrified her. She had never once imagined what it would be like to hear Draco say 'I love you'; but hearing him say he didn't had cut deeply. Remembering it brought a reluctant tear to her eye.

"Get a grip Hermione." She demanded; glad there was no one around to hear her talking to herself. Or rather, she had thought there was nobody around.

"Get a grip Hermione." She heard the familiar voice mimic, followed by an equally familiar laugh. She spun around.

"Peeves!"

"Tut tut. You do know talking to yourself is the first sign of madness don't you?" The poltergeist asked with a grin.

"Less so than talking to you." Hermione retorted before turning back round and continuing down the corridor.

"Now now Hermione. Don't go being rude or Peevesie will have to tell everyone what you've been doing with the Slytherin." Hermione stopped in her tracks.

"You wouldn't want all your friends knowing what a naughty girl you are now would you?" Peeves teased, drifting in front of her.

"What do you want?" Hermione asked.

"Pies!" He declared.

"Pies?"

"And cakes and buns and water balloons!" Peeves practically sang. He than proceeded to do somersaults in midair.

"So you won't tell? No one else is going to know about…about me and Draco?"

"Nobody, no not at all. Look, my arm's gone through the wall!" He grinned inanely before following his arm through the stone wall. Hermione stood and stared at the spot where Peeves had been. Would he tell? Panic stricken, Hermione turned round and changed her course of direction so that she was now heading towards the Slytherin common room. She had no idea how she would explain being there but she didn't really care. All she was worried about now was warning Draco about what Peeves had said before the whole school knew. She wracked her brain for how she was going to tell him. In fact, she was so distracted with worry as she approached the fourth floor staircase that she completely forgot that the third step from the top was merely an illusion. Just moments after mounting the staircase Hermione found herself falling through the step. She started to scream but within seconds she had hit the floor. Then everything went dark.


	4. Hermione

**Disclaimer: **The wonderful world of Harry Potter belongs to that utter genius J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. I am not J.K. Rowling and have nothing to do with Warner Brothers, so as you may have guessed I don't own the copyright. I'm not making any money from this, but will love you forever if you review. (But no flames please.) - Dramaqueen

**Hermione**

Ron and Harry sat in the hospital wing on either side of their friend's bed. She had been unconscious for three days now and although Madam Pomfrey was confident Hermione would recover, it was going to be a slow process.

"Miss Granger has sustained a very severe head injury. I need to heal the bruising that's occurred to her brain and that will take time." The nurse had explained when Harry and Ron rushed into the hospital wing demanding to know how Hermione was.

"Harry." Ron croaked, speaking for the first time in days. Harry moved his gaze away from Hermione to look at his other best friend. His own eyes still fixed on the woman lying between them, Ron said: "What will we do if…" His voice broke off, unable to complete the sentence which now hung morbidly in the air.

"She'll be fine. You heard Madam Pomfrey. She'll be ok it'll just take time." Harry tried to hide the uncertainty in his voice; he knew how Ron felt for Hermione and always had done. Sometimes he wondered whether Ron knew it himself but at times like this it didn't matter.

"But I heard Pomfrey talking to McGonagall when we came in. They're talking about sending her to St. Mungo's." There was a fear in Ron's voice that, despite all they had been through together, Harry had never heard before.

"She'll be fine."

"Who are you kidding Potter?" Harry turned around in his chair to see Draco Malfoy strolling towards them.

"What the hell are you doing here Malfoy?" Harry asked venomously.

"In case you haven't noticed, this a school infirmary."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"That's because it's none of your business." As if to prove he really was there for a legitimate reason, Draco went and knocked on the door to Madam Pomfrey's office. As the Slytherin waited for the nurse to open the door, he wondered if she would be able to tell he was lying about the headache he planned to use as an excuse for being there. He couldn't tell anyone he was there to see Hermione but he couldn't stay away any longer either. When he'd heard the news about Granger's accident he had been devastated; since then he had tried to ignore the need to go and see her but could not resist any longer. Everyone in the Slytherin common room was acting as if Draco should be thrilled that 'that know-it-all mudblood' had had such a serious accident. There was a time when that would have been true but as it was his feelings on the subject were far from those expected of him by his classmates.

"What can I do for you Mr Malfoy?" Madam Pomfrey asked once she had opened her door.

"I've got a headache." Draco lied. Why did Potter and Weasley have to be there? He could have put a locking charm on both Pomfrey's office and the door to the hospital wing and been able to sit by Hermione's bedside like he so desperately wanted.

"I'll get you some chocolate." Madam Pomfrey went back into her office and a moment later reappeared with a block of chocolate. "Eat this and have a sit down in here for a little while. Your common room's sure to be noisy so you'll only be back here if I you don't wait till your head feels better." And with that, Pomfrey went back into her office and shut the door.

Draco sat on a vacant bed opposite Hermione's and willed Harry and Ron to leave. Didn't they have rooms to go to? From what Draco had heard, the two of them had barely left her side since the accident; he had come up anyway in the hope that Pomfrey would have made them go get some rest by now. He should have learned by now he wasn't that lucky. As he sat there waiting for the two Gryffindors to leave, Draco realised he would be lost if Hermione died. Worrying about her in secret was one thing, but what if he had to mourn her in secret? How would he cope if he didn't even get to say goodbye? It was as Draco was beginning to get weighted down with these melancholy thoughts that the door opened and Professor McGonagall walked in. She went straight to Madam Pomfrey's office and the pair shut themselves in there, most likely discussing what was going to happen with Hermione. After a few minutes McGonagall left the office and walked over to Ron and Harry.

"Madam Pomfrey tells me you have been here most of the day again," she said gently.

"I'm not leaving her," Ron said, predicting what his head of house was going to say.

"I am afraid, Mr Weasley, that I am not going to be giving you a choice in the matter."

"But what if she wakes up and no one's here?"

"I can assure you both that Miss Granger will not be alone. More to the point Mr Weasley, what do you think she would say when she wakes up and discovers that she is the reason Mr Potter and yourself have neglected your studies these past few days?" There was no arguing with that. A moment later Harry and Ron, albeit reluctantly, left the infirmary.

"Mr Malfoy," McGonagall said from the doorway. Draco looked up.

"I trust that you heard the promise I made in regards to Miss Granger?" Draco was about to answer 'yes' when his teacher continued: "Do not make me a liar Draco." She left and Draco sat there, stunned, before getting up and walking over to Hermione. For awhile he just sat beside her bed, looking at her.

"I should have known you couldn't go a year without spending time in here. I forbid you from dying on me Granger. It would make Parkinson far too happy and she's unbearable enough as it is." He took her hand in his and held it tight. He was so preoccupied with looking at her, examining her for any sign that she was soon to awake, that he did not hear the door to the infirmary open or the quickening footsteps walking towards him.

"What the hell are you doing!" Draco looked up and saw Ron standing over him, his face even redder than usual.

"What does it look like I'm doing Weasley?" Ron, obviously not expecting this response, stuttered incoherently until he was interrupted by Madam Pomfrey coming out of her office and demanding to know what was going on and why Ron was still there.

"I forgot my bag," Ron said, picking it up from the floor by Hermione's bed. "But I don't know why you're yelling at me. He's the one who shouldn't be here." He pointed an accusing finger at Draco.

"I've got a headache; which you're not helping." Draco pushed Ron's hand away from out of his face.

"That doesn't explain what you're doing to Hermione."

"I'm not doing anything to Hermione!" Draco declared, getting angry now.

"Professor McGonagall asked Mr Malfoy to sit with Miss Granger," Madam Pomfrey explained.

"What!"

"You heard her. I'm supposed to be here."

"But…but…You? Hermione hates you." Ron's words stung Draco and before he could stop himself he found himself asking:

"Then why has she been screwing me for months?"

It was a few seconds before Draco's words sunk into Ron's brain. Once they had, Ron reacted by punching Draco in the face. Malfoy, who had been standing at that point, stumbled backwards into the chair he had occupied a few moments before.

"Ronald Weasley! Don't think I won't be telling Professor McGonagall about this," Madam Pomfrey exclaimed before hurrying off to get some ointment.

"Beat me up all you want Weasel. It won't change anything."

"You're lying. She would never go anywhere near you if she could help it."

"But that's just it. She can't help it; can't keep her hands off of me. Then again, I am irresistible." Draco taunted, enjoying this more than he would have expected.

"You're either lying or you've put a curse on her. She detests you Malfoy."

"That was before. Now she loves me, she just hasn't admitted it yet."

"You'll be telling me you're in love with her next."

"That's because I am."


	5. Broken Hearts

**Disclaimer: **The wonderful world of Harry Potter belongs to that utter genius J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. I am not J.K. Rowling and have nothing to do with Warner Brothers, so as you may have guessed I don't own the copyright. I'm not making any money from this, but will love you forever if you review. (But no flames please.) - Dramaqueen

Sorry this has taken so long

**Broken Hearts**

"You're…what?" Ron could scarcely believe what he had just heard.

"I'm in love with her. No one can be more surprised than I am Weasley so stop gawping. You look like a fish."

Ron shut his mouth and gulped as he attempted to find the right words. Or any words for that matter. But he couldn't say anything. One look in Draco's eyes told him he was telling the truth. Besides, why would Malfoy pretend to be in love with Hermione? It wouldn't exactly make him look good in front of his friends and cronies. As painful as it was to admit, now that Ron knew the truth so much suddenly began to fall into place. No wonder Hermione had seemed so secretive recently.

"Aren't you going to hit me again Weasley? You know you're dying to. Do your worst." There was something in Malfoy's voice that suggested that he actually wanted Ron to hit him. Any other time Ron would have jumped at the chance to repeatedly punch Malfoy in his arrogantly smug face without fear of reprisal. But not now. Now he couldn't do anything. He just stood there, frozen to the spot. Draco Malfoy was in love with Hermione and it was likely that she was in love him too; it would certainly explain a lot if she was. The tense silence between the two young men was broken by murmuring coming from unconscious girl beside them. Instantly they both leapt to her side.

"I'm here." Ron was taken aback by the tenderness in his rival's voice as the Slytherin boy sat back down by the bed. All the redhead could manage was a mumbled sound which vaguely resembled "Mione".

"Draco," whispered Hermione, her eyelids fluttering.

"I'm right here Hermione," as Draco spoke, he took his lovers hand in his. Ron stared in anguish. His worst fear had been right; she did love Malfoy; or at the very least she had feelings for him.

"Peeves. He knows. He might tell."

"We'll worry about that later. I love you." As Draco began to stroke Hermione's hair, Ron realized that he couldn't take this anymore. Regaining his composure just enough to actually do something, he grabbed his bag from where he had left it by the bed and rushed out of the infirmary. He wasn't quite quick enough and was in the room just long enough to hear Hermione murmur, "I love you too."

When Ron arrived back in the Gryffindor common room he had had just enough thinking time in which to become angry.

"How could she? After everything he's done. She's supposed to hate him!" He yelled, collapsing into an empty chair near to where Harry was sitting with Ginny, Dean, Neville and Seamus. They all stared at him blankly.

"Malfoy? Malfoy!" Ron declared as if the others should know exactly what he meant by the way he said the name.

"What did he do now?" Neville asked, perplexed.

"He… And Hermione!"

"You may have to start from the beginning," Ginny suggested. There were times, quite a lot of them in fact, when she really didn't understand her brother.

"Has something happened with Hermione?" Harry asked before Ron could start talking gibberish again.

"Too right some thing's happened with Hermione. She's only gone and fallen in love with Malfoy."

"She's done what now?" Asked Seamus, not entirely sure he had just heard correctly.

"He was sitting there looking all smug and saying they'd been sleeping together for ages and then she goes and wakes up and says his name. And not Malfoy either. They actually called each other 'Hermione' and 'Draco'. Something is definitely wrong here."

"Wait," said Harry. "Hermione's woken up? When? How is she?"

"Yes. Just now. And crazy if you ask me. She actually said…she told him she loves him." No one said anything but all five of the group surrounding Ron heard the crack in his voice at that moment. Ginny's heart went out to the youngest of her older brothers; why hadn't she just made him act on his feelings before now? Maybe if she had she wouldn't have to be watching his heart break.

"I wouldn't have believed it except according to Madame Pomfrey McGonagall asked Malfoy to stay with her and why would she do that if..." his voice trailed off as he fought back the waves of emotion that were threatening to break free at any moment. There was a silence as everybody tried to take in what they had just heard. Dean was the one who eventually spoke up: "So, let me get this straight; Hermione's just woken up but when she did she asked for Malfoy because they're, like, a couple now or something? And McGonagall knew about this all along? This is weird." They looked at each other and at the room around them as if that would somehow give them all the answers. No one could get their heads around the idea of Hermione Granger getting involved with Draco Malfoy, yet Ron seemed so convinced of it that he had left her bedside right when she had finally woken up.

"I'm going to see her," Ginny announced suddenly, breaking the tension filled silence that was once again building up.

"Leave it Gin. Malfoy can have her for all I care," Ron informed his sister without bothering to look up from the spot of carpet he was staring at intently.

"Whatever she's done, she's still my friend Ron. I want to see her because I want to know if she's alright. I'm surprised you don't feel the same Harry." With that, Ginny turned and marched out of Gryffindor common room before anyone could attempt to stop her. A moment later, Harry got up and followed her out.

"Wait. I'm coming with you," he called as he exited the portrait hole just in time to see a mass of flaming red hair turn the corner. The hair stopped and the person it was attached to spun around.

"What are we going to say to her Harry? I really want her to be ok but at the same time, I hate her for what she's done to Ron. I know they're not together or anything but still. How could she do this? How could she not tell me she'd done this?" Before Harry could answer, Ginny burst into tears and buried her head on his shoulder. Despite all that he had faced over the past few years, Harry still had no idea how to deal with girls crying. Not sure if it was the appropriate thing to do or not, he put his arms around her and, without knowing why, kissed the top of her head. Then, without thinking about what he was doing, he placed a hand under her chin and tenderly lifted her face so that he was looking straight into her eyes. Before either of them could stop themselves, or question what they were doing, their lips met.


	6. Changes

**Disclaimer: **The wonderful world of Harry Potter belongs to that utter genius J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. I am not J.K. Rowling and have nothing to do with Warner Brothers, so as you may have guessed I don't own the copyright. I'm not making any money from this, but will love you forever if you review. (But no flames please.) - Dramaqueen

Sorry this one's so short.

**Changes**

"Why on earth did you not come and tell me right away Mr. Malfoy?" Madam Pomfrey demanded as she peered into Hermione's eyes, presumably checking to see how alert she was.

"I told you now didn't I?" he retorted. About five minutes after Hermione had come to, Draco had remembered that he should probably make the school nurse aware of the fact. Reluctantly tearing himself away from Hermione's bedside, he had knocked on the office door, informed Mme. Pomfrey that she was awake, then promptly returned to her.

"I should have been informed immediately," Mme. Pomfrey said as she continued to run a series of tests on her patient.

"I asked him not tell you," Hermione lied. She was still rather weak but had recovered just enough to be irritated by the nurses' insistent prodding and poking of her. If she wanted to know if she was ok she could just ask.

"May I ask why Miss Granger?"

"I just wanted," she reached out and took hold of Draco's hand, "to have some time with him. Alone."

Madame Pomfrey looked between the two students and they could see it dawn on her that there was more to their relationship than them both being head-students. She was obviously flustered as she dropped the illuminated wand which she had been using to look in Hermione's ears.

"Well I never," she muttered to herself as she bent down to pick up the wand. "I must go and send an owl to Professor McGonagall. She will want to be informed that Miss Granger has regained consciousness." With that, she turned on her heel and hurried back to her office, making sure to leave the door open when she entered.

"What does she think we're going to do? Tear each other's clothes off and go at it in the middle of the infirmary? If that was the plan what was the point of knocking on her door in the first place." Mme Pomfrey must have heard Draco's comments because as he was getting to the end of his rant she opened the door even further.

"Ron's probably told Harry about us by now. He may have told other people too." Hermione had managed to sit up and was still holding Draco's hand. It was strange how content they both seemed to be with showing signs of affection anywhere other than the privacy of their office.

"Let him. If anyone doesn't like it that's their problem. I'm a Malfoy for Merlin's sake. I shouldn't have to sneak around like I'm ashamed to be with the woman I love." He was rather surprised to realize that he meant every word of it.

Ginny was the one who pulled, albeit reluctantly, away from the kiss. She could easily have let herself go on but she knew that that would be wrong.

"We can't do this," she said, stepping away from the temptation. "I'm going out with Dean. I love Dean. I'm moving in with Dean."

"You just said 'Dean' three times in one sentence."

"Three sentences," mumbled Ginny as she tried to avoid looking into Harry's eyes. His beautiful, intense, sexy…'Stop it' she told herself, 'you just kissed him because you're upset. That's all it is.'

"I don't want to hurt him either Ginny, but we both know that there's something between us. We have to at least talk about this. Please." Harry took a step towards her before reaching out a hand to wipe away a tear that was rolling gently down her cheek. Touching her felt so right he almost forgot for a moment that he shouldn't be doing this.

"Why do we have to? Why can't we just forget this ever happened?"

"You know why." Harry leaned in and, after a second's hesitation, they resumed the kiss. After they pulled apart they stood, embracing, with their heads resting tenderly on one another.

"I love Dean," whispered Ginny, more to convince herself than Harry. She looked up at him and knew that she should walk away. But she couldn't. She knew that what she was doing to Dean was worse than what Hermione had done to Ron but she just couldn't help herself. She had wanted Harry ever since she was ten years old and the feeling had only intensified over the years. Then she remembered. She had been thinking about nothing else for the past two weeks and now, after a few blissful moments of forgetting, the thought returned with a vengeance.

"I've tried being your friend Ginny but I just can't do it anymore. I don't want to be the reason you break Dean's heart but I can't keep pretending that I don't think about you every minute of the day. I wish I could stop but it's not that easy. I lo…" Ginny put a finger to his lips to prevent him from saying what they both knew he wanted to say.

"I know. But we can't. I think about you all the time too but I'm…I'm moving in with Dean."

"Not for another year. More than a year. If you need time work out how you're going to break up with him I can wait. I don't care if you want to keep us quiet for awhile. I just care about you." Harry was aware that he sounded corny but he had wanted Ginny for too long to worry about a little detail like that. The youngest Weasley looked away from him as fresh tears filled her eyes. Why couldn't she have continued to forget for just a little while longer?

"It's not that simple."

"It can be."

"No," Ginny turned back to him with an expression that he had never seen before; full of fear and anger and a little confusion, "it can't. I'm pregnant."


	7. Developments

**Disclaimer: **The wonderful world of Harry Potter belongs to that utter genius J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. I am not J.K. Rowling and have nothing to do with Warner Brothers, so as you may have guessed I don't own the copyright. I'm not making any money from this, but will love you forever if you review. (But no flames please.) - Dramaqueen

**Developments**

They stood there staring at each other, the tension palpable as they were each unable to find the words with which to break the silence. Ginny could not believe she had just revealed her biggest secret to Harry of all people; Harry couldn't believe that he had heard her right. Today was certainly turning out to be much more complicated than he had expected.

"You're...but how?" He asked as soon as he had regained the power of speech.

"How do you think? The usual way," Ginny snapped. She knew that she had no reason to be angry at Harry but now that she had revealed her big secret she could no longer hide from it and felt as if she had to take everything she was going through out on someone.

"I know that, but…I just meant…I didn't realize you and Dean…"

"I have been going out with Dean for nearly 2 years you know. It's amazing how easy it is to be alone together if you want it enough," she explained, an edge of bitterness in her voice. Harry wasn't entirely sure he wanted to be hearing this but he needed answers. Ginny's revelation had come as an even bigger shock than the news that Draco Malfoy was by Hermione's bedside.

"Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't have told you if I wasn't."

"But you would kiss me?" Harry's anger was rising and the accusation was out of his mouth before he could prevent it.

"I love you!" Ginny's hand flew to her mouth as she realized what she had said. They stood staring at each other in mutual shock for a while.

"I…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that," stammered Ginny. She was aware that tears were flowing down her cheeks but she didn't care. Everything was becoming such a mess. Why did she have to go and kiss Harry? As if her life wasn't enough of a mess as it was; and now she had to go and tell Harry she loved him. It was all so much simpler when all she had had to deal with was a crush on her brother's famous best friend and being possessed by a diary. The worst part of it was, as much as she loved Harry, she loved Dean too.

"You know that I've always…you've always…but what Dean and I have…I'm having his baby. I'm sorry that I kissed you and I'm sorry that I don't regret it. I'm sorry." Before Harry could respond, Ginny turned on her heel and fled down the corridor. Every instinct, every desire, urged him to run after her. But he couldn't move; he just stood there, rooted to the spot, staring as her flaming red hair disappeared around the corner.

**A/N**: Sorry this chapter is so short. Not too sure where I'm going with this so any ideas are very welcome. Please review.


	8. Consequences

**Consequences**

Three days after Hermione had woken up, Mme. Pomfrey finally allowed her to leave the hospital wing.

"I would have thought those friends of yours would have wanted to be here," commented Draco as Hermione got changed behind a curtain that Pomfrey had insisted Draco, much to his annoyance, stayed the other side of. 'What does she think we're going to get up to behind a curtain that we couldn't do behind a decent concealment charm?' he had wondered when she conjured it up.

"'Those friends of mine,' as you put it, have just discovered that I'm going out with someone we're supposed to hate," she reminded him from behind the divide.

"So? I could say the same thing but my friends are still talking to me."

"Your friends would talk to you even if you were in love with McGonagall,"

"Tut-tut Granger. I thought you were supposed to like McGonagall," Draco smirked.

"I do. And you know that's not what I meant. Crabbe and Goyle have been your…" she paused as she tried to find the right word, (and to dig her shoes out from under the bed – a thing she always seemed to end up doing when Draco was around,) "your cronies, ever since we were 11. Longer for all I know."

"I do not have cronies." Hermione pulled back the curtain and gave him an 'oh really' look. "Oh alright, maybe I do. But if it makes you feel any better, Parkinson's in a mood with me. She's been sulking ever since she found out about us."

"That's because she fancies you. Not that I can blame her." Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco's neck and kissed him. His arms encircled her waist and the kiss intensified. They were just about to fall back onto the bed behind her when they were interrupted by a rather flustered Madam Pomfrey.

"Miss Granger! Mr. Malfoy! Never, in all my years. This is a school."

"Sorry Madam Pomfrey. We were just going," Hermione apologized, her cheeks flushing red as she grabbed her wand from the bedside table and hurried towards the door.

"That woman would have a heart attack if she ever walked in on one of our 'meetings'," Draco said as soon as they had left the hospital wing. "We were just kissing for Merlin's sake."

"You and I both know that what we were just doing was more than just a kiss. Any longer and we might as well have been in one of our 'meetings'. You know it's funny, if anyone had told me a year ago that I would be so…so…"

"Affectionate?" offered Draco, grinning as he slid his arm around her waist.

"I wonder if I'll ever get used to you and I being able to finish each other's sentences," Hermione laughed. "As I was saying, if I'd been told a year ago that I would be so _affectionate _in public, I would never have believed them."

"If they had told you you would be affectionate anywhere with me, you would have done more than not believe them Hermione. You would have punched them in the face, hexed them, or both." As someone who had been on the receiving end of Hermione's fist, he knew that it was definitely something to avoid.

"And you wouldn't have, Draco?" It was only the second time in their relationship that they had directly called each other by their first names and it sounded oddly nice.

"I doubt that anyone would have had the nerve to tell me I'd end up in love with Hermione Granger," he pointed out, pausing a moment to lean in and kiss her gently on the mouth.

"So it is true," interrupted a silky voice from behind them. The young couple broke apart and turned around to see Professor Snape standing in the corridor.

"Yes Professor," Draco replied, unsure of what else he should say whilst trying to sound as if he wasn't at all fazed that he had been caught kissing Hermione by his head of house. Snape looked intensely at the pair for a few moments. Hermione couldn't help but notice a strange look in his eyes that, if it had been anyone but Snape, she would have been sure was longing.

"A Slytherin and a Gryffindor," said the Professor slowly. Later, Hermione and Draco both agreed that they could have sworn a smile had appeared on his usually dour face for the briefest of seconds. "I never thought I'd see the day." With that, Snape turned and walked back the way he must have come. As soon as he had disappeared from view, his students turned their attention from where he had been to each other.

"Well that was odd. He didn't even try to find an excuse to take points from Gryffindor," observed Hermione.

"Something tells me that that isn't going to be the only strange reaction we get now that everyone knows about us. We're in for a rough ride Granger."

Before Hermione could respond, they were interrupted by another familiar voice from somewhere down the corridor. But this time the voice interrupting them wasn't so calm.

"Stay away from my sister! Both of you." Spinning around, Hermione saw Ron hurrying down the corridor supporting a frail looking Ginny and yelling over his shoulder. A moment later, Harry and Dean appeared in the corridor behind him.

"Ron. Please. I'm sorry," Harry pleaded.

"I don't want to hear it Harry," yelled Ron, not even looking this time. He didn't even acknowledge Draco and Hermione's presence as he passed them, despite Hermione's vocal concern for his sister's (and her best friend's) welfare. Suddenly there was a scream and Ginny collapsed to the floor, pulling her brother down next her as she clasped her arms around her abdomen and wailed in anguished pain. They all rushed to her, Draco included as he knew how much his girlfriend cared about the Weasleys and wanted her to know he was there for her. Ginny continued to scream for a few seconds until she was able to form the words she had been trying to vocalize: "My baby! Something's wrong with my baby."


	9. Consequences part 2

**Consequences**

**Part 2**

It had been three days since Ginny had kissed Harry and told him she loved him. Three days since she had blurted out her deepest secret. Three days of barely sleeping and desperately wishing Hermione had kept her time-turner. Why did she have to go and open her big mouth? She hadn't even told Dean yet and now his friend knew he was going to be a father before he did. A friend she had betrayed him with. Her boyfriend trusted the both of them and not only had she kissed Harry, but she had said 'I love you'; words that had once been reserved only for Dean. She hated herself for feeling this way. She really did love Dean, but what she felt for Harry was deeper and more intense than anything else she had ever felt.

"Ginny." At the sound of her name, she looked up and saw her boyfriend standing by the chair that she had not moved from since she got back from dinner.

"Room for one more?" Dean asked with a glint in his eye that once upon a time would have made Ginny want to drag him into the room of requirement and collapse together onto the bed they had often found there. Now she just felt guilty.

"Of course," she replied, shifting in the armchair to allow space for Dean to slide in next to her.

"Neville just ran into McGonagall. Hermione's being allowed out of the infirmary tonight," Dean told his girlfriend once he had maneuvered himself so that she was practically sitting on his lap.

"Is someone going to meet her? Does Ron know?" Ginny felt yet another twinge of guilt as she realized that with all that had happened in the past few days, she had all but forgotten about her best friend being in the hospital wing and her brother's heartbreak on discovering the formers' relationship with Draco Malfoy.

"Malfoy's with her. I still can't get my head around those two. I mean, Hermione and Malfoy? That's like Harry going out with Pansy Parkinson."

"How's Ron?" Ginny asked firmly, trying to convince herself that her impatience was down to concern for her brother rather than irrational jealousy at the idea of Harry going out with anyone who wasn't her, Pansy included.

"Last time I saw him he was still successfully convincing himself he fancies Lavender. Again," Dean said with a laugh. When Ginny had finally returned to the common room after fleeing from Harry three days before, she had arrived there to discover that, whilst she'd been gone, her brother had decided to ask his ex-girlfriend if she wanted to pick up where they left off. Apparently, Lavender had been so thrilled to have Won Won back that the significance of him wanting to get back together less than an hour after discovering Hermione was in love with someone else was lost on her. Since nobody had the heart to point this out to her, they instead choose to hope that Ron had genuine feelings for her and that the timing was pure coincidence. As if on cue, Lavender's voice came booming down the staircase leading to the boy's dormitories at the same time as a rather flustered looking Ron emerged through the doorway at the bottom.

"You're nothing but a good-for-nothing love rat Ronald Weasley. I can't believe I ever let you anywhere near me!"

"I…I…I'm," stammered Ron as Lavender emerged, red faced and furious, into the Gryffindor common room.

"You're what? Sorry? It's too late for sorry. I should have known all along this was never about me." By now all eyes were on the feuding pair and throughout the room students were suppressing fits of laughter as they got a good look at them.

"I'm wearing your robe," Ron blurted out. Lavender, not expecting this response, looked her once again ex-boyfriend up and down before looking at her own ensemble. Sure enough, Ron was wearing her robes and she his. The difference between the male and female Hogwarts' robes was far from obvious to an untrained eye; or, for example, when they were lying in a crumpled heap on a dormitory floor, but it was clear to everyone watching that Ron and Lavender had somehow switched.

"Keep it," she yelled, her eyes glistening, before spinning on her heel and rushing back up the stairs. A moment later she reappeared in the doorway, looking more than a little embarrassed, yelled "Parvati," ran across the common room and disappeared up the girls' staircase with her best friend in tow.

"What on earth did you do Ron?" Harry asked, walking over to his friend as he performed a quick spell to transfigure Lavender's robe into a male one. The result wasn't perfect but at least the chest area was no longer quite so obviously female and the robe became an inch or two longer. Ron murmured an incoherent response as he collapsed in the nearest vacant seat.

"I didn't quite catch that," said Harry, sitting in the chair next to Ron's.

"I called her Hermione," Ron grumbled.

"Is that all? And here I thought you'd dumped her again."

"Well we were, you know, at the time." There was a spot on the arm of the chair that Ron seemed to find so interesting he refused to look up from it. Harry didn't have to know everything he did about Ron to guess what 'you know' meant.

"You're kidding? No wonder she looked like she wanted to cruciate you. If you ask me, you're lucky you're still walking." Before Harry could tease his friend any further, the common room was filled once again with a female scream. But this time it wasn't filled with anger. The colour drained from Ron's face as he turned to the source of the scream.

"Ginny!" Harry and Ron yelled, leaping from their seats and rushing simultaneously to her side. Dean was crouching by the chair and looking terrified as his girlfriend wrapped her arms tightly around her body. She was paler than any of them, Ron included, had ever seen her and even though she was no longer screaming, she was clearly in a lot of pain.

"What is it Ginny? What's wrong?" Dean asked.

"Is something wrong with the baby?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Harry regretted it. Despite the pain Ginny managed to give Harry a furious look.

"What baby?" Ron looked from his sister to his best friend confusion.

"You're pregnant?" her boyfriend asked, his fear now mingled with shock.

"I wan…agh," Ginny howled in pain before managing to continue, "I wanted to tell you. I'm…agh…so…I'm so sorry." She was looking directly into Dean's eyes, silently pleading with him to know that she meant it.

"Is it coming now?"

"No. It's too soon."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Harry didn't know who to answer first as both Dean and Ron turned on him.

"It wasn't my place to tell you. Either of you."

"How long have you known?" Demanded Dean.

"She's my sister," roared Ron.

"Only a few days. I know that but she told me in confidence," Harry spoke to each man in turn. What on earth had possessed him to go blurting it out like that?

"You should have told me," Ron said, turning his attention on his little sister.

"I'm here." For the second time in a few minutes, Ron and Dean had spoken as one.

"Get away from her," the red head growled as he put his arm protectively around Ginny and helped her to her feet.

"But…it's my baby too."

"Meaning that if it wasn't for you she wouldn't be going through this. It's ok Ginevra. I'm taking you to see Madam Pomfrey now. She'll know what to do." With that, the Weasley siblings walked out of the common room, the older of the two supporting his only sister all the way. Dean and Harry began to follow but a hex from Ron slowed them right done. As soon as they were able to move again they sprinted through the portrait hole.

Neither of the four stopped moving until, halfway to the infirmary, Ginny collapsed, screaming, in the middle of the corridor in front of a startled Hermione and Draco.

"My baby! Something's wrong with my baby."

**A/N: Sorry if the end seems a bit abrupt, I just figured there's no point repeating everything since this is where the previous chapter ended.**


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